The Snow Was Soft
by Midnight Forever
Summary: Small Christmas one-shot. Haku hosts Christmas at his house! Appearance by many characters. Rated T for Tayuya's language. R&R please. Written for Spork Ai


**Subject:** Merry Christmas (Hanukah), Grace!!

**To:** SporkAi (Grace)

**From:** Keysoto (Katie)

**Note:** I hope you like it, Grace! It's not as good as I first had in mind, but I tried! 3

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The snow was soft, it was falling still. Had been since Sunset. A house, surround by mounds of snow in the suburbs, lay quietly, light pooling out of a large window. A tree, decorated in lights and ornaments shone brightly while an inhabitant continue to decorate.

Haku Mizukiri, 11th grader and proud member of the Drama Club (a.k.a. Theatre!), hefted a box down on a nearby table, fragile glass clinking when it made impact. He stood in front of tonight's current master of his time. The Christmas Tree. It already had the many lights on it (which was two hours of straight hell, especially since there were 15 sets of lights and they all just happened to be tangled together, because what Christmas is complete without a fight with Christmas lights?) and tinsel was thrown here and there. Next step: Ornaments. He'd just brought up the box of all of his old family ornaments, things they collected over the years, and thought he might put those up before the store bought orbs of shininess.

Haku sighed and looked back at the large box, before ruefully lifting the edges up and down. He lifted a small box, the size of his fist, and looked at the picture on the side. It was of a cute little angel, playing with a puppy on a cloud. It was part of his collection that his mother started when he was born. Even though she wasn't alive anymore due to leukemia, he still bought the newest edition every year, and he never missed one since they started the year he was born, which added up to 17 years now.

He lifted the top, and pulled out the bundle encased in bubble wrap and taking it out, the ornament swinging slightly by the thread that it was hung by. Haku made his way to the tree in the middle of the large family room, and hung it at eyelevel next to a light so that it was illuminated. The angels made him think of his mother. Of her constant doting and love, of always smelling of sweet sugar cookies and warm cinnamon cider.

He was awaked from his reverie when a loud, boisterous voice sounded through the room, "Sasuke-teme, gimme that back!!!"

"Hn, no, dobe."

The pair entered the room, still clad in snow jackets, scarves, and earmuffs. Sasuke clutched a foot-long peppermint candy cane when Naruto made another attempt at retrieving his stolen goodie. They looked up when Haku cleared his throat, arms crossed, toes tapping the ground. He rose an eyebrow and smile on his lips, "So glad you could make it back, boys, did you get what I asked for?"

Sasuke Uchiha, age 16, 10th grader and friend of Haku for a good 4 years, smirked, lifting up a large plastic bag. Haku had sent him and Naruto out to the grocery store for last minute preparations. And after a half hour of searching for cranberry sauce, honey roasted ham, sweet potatoes, and eggnog did they finally make it back, even if Naruto had to wrestle the last can of cranberry sauce from a little old lady.

Naruto Uzumaki, also age 16 and 10th grader, friend of Haku for the same 4 years, threw his coat over a chair in the kitchen and continued to take off his boots said, "Yeah, it was hard though. Why didn't you shop for this crap a week before, like all the normal people?"

Haku's eye twitched from his point atop a chair, ornaments dangling from each finger, "I did, but if you remember correctly, a certain someone decided to use the ham for snow football, and put the cranberry sauce in the tub as a prank, and then decided he would put yams on Mr. Uchiha there while he was asleep and make him roll around in it. I didn't have time to buy all of that again seeing as how you did it last night!" With the last word he tipped too far to one side, wobbling back and forth, between falling and staying. Finally a loud scream broke through the boy's lips as he fell from atop the tipsy chair and into the large plastic box that housed the fake Christmas tree during the odd seasons.

In an instant Naruto and Sasuke were over there, Naruto asking lamely if Haku was okay and Sasuke helping the brunette out.

Haku just shook his head, "I'm fine." He looked at Sasuke and then at Naruto, "I'm assigning you both jobs. Sasuke, get Sakura, Ino, and Tenten from downstairs, they're currently wrapping presents and tell them it's time for them to start dinner. You, Naruto, are going to help me decorate the tree, assuming you are capable of that much, and then we'll start wrapping presents, okay?"

Both boys nodded, and Sasuke soon disappeared, his voice muffled by the walls and insulation while he talked to the girls.

Naruto made his way over and started to hang ornaments every which way, having to more than once raise them higher when Haku's cat, Snowy, batted at them.

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Two hours later they were all around the dinner table, food and candles littering the place. It went in order, starting at Haku, then to his right was his fiancé, Zabuza, then Sakura, Naruto, followed by Neji, Sasuke, Gaara, then Itachi sharing a bench with Kankuro, Tenten and Ino sitting on stools, Sasori, followed by Deidara, Shikamaru, and ending with Tayuya at Haku's left.

Noise was apparent, as was food. Haku quickly hushed them all, and folded his hands, "Time for Grace everyone."

A series of groans erupted.

"Aww, man…!"

"Do we have to?"

"Santa! …yeah!"

"What?"

"Um… I'm not Christian…"

"Then why are you here?"

"Do you two do nothing but bicker, god, you're so troublesome."

"Shut up, you fuckers. It's time for Grace, not fucking talk-time, so shut up!"

"Tayuya!"

"Everyone, HUSH!" Haku shook his head, god his friends were troublemakers! "Good Lord, thank you for the food on this table. For everyone here and that may everyone not be happy and at peace. Bless Mary, the Holy Mother, Jesus Christ and all of your children. Amen." He looked over his laced fingers, half of the people just looking away, not really caring, the other have immediately repeating "amen" and starting to eat.

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Three hours later, Haku was wiped out. He did a little of the cleaning up, it was mostly left to the boys, but he had spent a good portion of time wrapping presents. Almost everyone was asleep, not having to fight over space seeing as how they had been at Haku's house since Christmas Vacation started.

In the living room with the shining tree, were Naruto and Neji, asleep on a pop-up bed/couch. Snowy, Haku's cat, slept on a plush chair in a corner, soft purrs coming out now and then.

In the first bedroom were Itachi and Kankuro, Kankuro asleep while Itachi fiddled with his hair, Christmas jitters keeping him up until the Bendryl he took finally kicking in.

In the second bedroom were Sasuke and Gaara. Sasuke was already asleep, cuddling with a pillow as Gaara red small portions of his book in the light from the moon coming in through the window before falling asleep himself.

In the master bedroom between the two, was where Zabuza was sleeping, languidly sprawled across the mattress. Haku was on his way to join him, after making a brief stop to the bathroom, and then continued on.

Downstairs in the living room was where Tenten took up the Loveseat that was pulled out with Tayuya. Sakura and Ino shared a blow-up mattress in the middle of the floor, everyone asleep, yet the TV still shinning in the corner.

In the bedroom were Deidara and Sasori, Deidara already long asleep after saying he must be ready for Santa to come. Sasori was drifting along, one arm slung over Deidara's stomach, the other dangling over the edge and swinging back and forth before stopping altogether.

And finally, silence, for the most part, ruled the house of Haku Mizukiri.

To say that morning would be hell, many saying it was too early, the others wanting to open their presents, play for a few hours before taking a long catnap and then eating dinner before falling asleep again. But, that wasn't for another 6 or so hours, so Haku could at least get that much sleep before having to control his house full of wind animals.

And with that, a small smile tugging on his lips, Haku drifted to sleep in his lover's arms.


End file.
